Episode 130: Hot Topic: Putting SERVE Into Your Service Business

Oh, bosses, I’m coming in hot in this episode. Today, I’m talking about a topic that’s been on my mind for a while — and it’s about why we run businesses in the first place. I’m diving into putting the SERVE in your service business.

Now, if you’re wondering why I’m going here, there are a lot of reasons, and one of them is my own messaging. Over the last year, I’ve moved to talking about making more money in your service business, and honestly, that’s been quite a debate. I don’t want to be one of THOSE sleazy marketers.

I’m confident this is the right message, but I have a bit of discomfort about people taking it the wrong way. If you’re here, I know you know how I roll, but I do want to talk about this because it’s easy to lose sight of it in our quest to make money.

The fact is that when you run a service business, SERVICE needs to be at the heart of what you do.

Yes, that’s obvious, but it’s actually really important as it goes to our motivation and how we run our business and how we show up. It’s very obvious to me when those things are out of whack and the idea of service has been lost.

So, here it is. If you’re going to build a business for the long-term around working with clients, you need to dig into why you want to serve. Because without that core beyond the money, things are going to feel empty.

I know for me when I start to feel “off” in my business, I need to go back to WHY I serve. Why I do what I do. Why I choose to do this.

Because it is a choice. Never forget that. It’s a choice we make to be our own boss, and it’s not a simple or easy one.

Okay, so how do we focus on service and really serve our clients — and not get lost in the quest to make more money?

1. Work with clients you want to work with. These are clients you like and that you want to be in service of. Clients that aren’t a fit make it challenging to WANT to do what we do and stay connected to that why.
2. Get clear on why you want to be of service. I don’t believe it’s about the money for most of us, because if it was, we could do a lot of other things. So dig deeper into why you work with clients and how you want that to show up in how you serve clients on a day-to-day basis.
3. Take the time to understand how you help your clients. Getting deep into what you do for them and the results you deliver helps you see the connection between the work you do and how it’s really of service.
4. Infuse service into your processes and how you communicate. I don’t mean be a doormat, but put a level of attention and care into your relationships so your clients know why they work with you and value your contributions.
5. Use service as a filter. When a client’s pushing your buttons or you’re triggered, take a beat, and consider how you can be a professional and still stay true to your heart of service. That saves me many times from getting heated over things that just don’t matter. (Again, maintain your boundaries, but this can help prevent small things from becoming bigger issues.)